Winning the World Series is the peak of the baseball world. It's what every player, manager and executive dreams about accomplishing in their careers.
Of course, throughout history, some players, managers and executives have had better luck accomplishing that than others. Some players have spent nearly two decades in the sport and assembled Hall of Fame careers that lacked a ring. Other players have been traded midseason and landed on a team that won a title in their lone season with that franchise.
Managers don't have the same luxury as players. The course of their careers is often dependent on how they are at winning games and winning titles. They can't be traded to a better team midseason. And go too many seasons with underwhelming results, and it might signal the end of their time at the helm.
MORE: Which players have won the most World Series rings?
Which managers have been the most successful at winning World Series? Here's what you need to know.
Most World Series wins by a manager
The Yankees have, for most of baseball history, been the ultimate power. Their at times near-limitless budgets relative to other teams gave them an incredible advantage, especially in the early years of the sport.
So it should be no surprise that it's Yankees that largely litter the top of the list of the most World Series won by managers. Former Yankee managers Joe McCarthy and Casey Stengel have the most rings, each with seven. Long-time Athletics manager Connie Mack (who managed 18 years longer than the second-longest tenured manager) has five, the third-most.
The active leader is Bruce Bochy, who won three titles with the Giants and has a chance to add a fourth with the Rangers in 2023.
Here's a look at the most World Series rings by manager.
| Manager | Rings | Years (Teams) |
| Casey Stengel | 7 | 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958 (Yankees) |
| Joe McCarthy | 7 | 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1943 (Yankees) |
| Connie Mack | 5 | 1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1930 (Athletics) |
| Joe Torre | 4 | 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 (Yankees) |
| Walter Alston | 4 | 1955, 1959, 1963, 1965 (Yankees) |
| Bruce Bochy* | 4 | 2010, 2012, 2014 (Giants), 2023 (Rangers) |
| Tony La Russa | 3 | 1989 (Athletics), 2006, 2011 (Cardinals) |
| Sparky Anderson | 3 | 1975, 1976 (Reds), Tigers (1984) |
| John McGraw | 3 | 1905, 1921, 1922 (Giants) |
| Miller Huggins | 3 | 1923, 1927, 1928 (Yankees) |
* - active
Most World Series appearances by a manager
If the managers with the most World Series are Yankees, it stands to reason the managers with the most World Series appearances would also be Yankees.
Unsurprisingly, Stengel is back on top, tied with John McGraw for the most appearances with 10. Mack and McCarthy both managed teams to nine Fall Classics. Tony La Russa, Joe Torre, Bruce Bochy and Bobby Cox are the only managers to coach in the 2000s that led teams to five or more, with La Russa and Torre each reaching six, and Bochy and Cox each reaching five.
Here are the managers with at least six pennants to their resumes.
| Manager | Pennants | Years (Teams) |
| Casey Stengel | 10 | 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960 (Yankees) |
| John McGraw | 10 | 1904, 1905, 1911, 1912, 1913, 1917, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924 (Giants) |
| Connie Mack | 9 | 1902, 1905, 1910, 1911, 1913, 1914, 1929, 1930, 1931 (Athletics) |
| Joe McCarthy | 9 | 1929 (Cubs), 1932, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1942, 1943 (Yankees) |
| Walter Alston | 7 | 1955, 1956, 1959, 1963, 1965, 1966, 1974 (Dodgers) |
| Tony La Russa | 6 | 1988, 1989, 1990 (Athletics), 2004, 2006, 2011 (Cardinals) |
| Joe Torre | 6 | 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003 (Yankees) |
| Miller Huggins | 6 | 1921, 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927, 1928 (Yankees) |
Most games managed without a World Series appearance
On the flip side, there are the managers who have never won a World Series despite many cracks at it. Winning the Fall Classic is hard — only 87 managers have ever done it — so it's certainly understandable that there are many, many more who have come up short.
No one felt that void more than Gene Mauch, who managed four different teams each in stints of at least five years, and didn't win a World Series. He managed 3,942 games, but did not come away with a title. His teams only reached the playoffs twice, and they never won a pennant.
It's fair to note that it used to be the playoffs were significantly smaller. For much of the early years of the game, the World Series was comprised of the two teams with the best records from the regular season, and there was no postseason.
Here are the managers with the most games managed despite no World Series wins. This list does not include managers who worked before the first World Series, which was held in 1903.
| Manager | Years Managed | Last Year Managing | Games (W-L) | Playoff Appearances | Pennants Won |
| Gene Mauch | 26 | 1987 | 3,942 (1,902-2,037) | 2 | 0 |
| Buck Showalter | 22 | 2023 | 3,393 (1,727-1,665) | 6 | 0 |
| Jimmy Dykes | 21 | 1961 | 2,962 (1,406-1,541) | 0 | 0 |
| Bob Melvin | 20 | 2023* | 2,942 (1,517-1,425) | 8 | 0 |
| Clint Hurdle | 17 | 2019 | 2,615 (1,269-1,345) | 4 | 1 |
| Bill Rigney | 18 | 1976 | 2,561 (1,239-1,321) | 1 | 0 |
| Ron Gardenhire | 16 | 2020 | 2,480 (1,200-1,280) | 6 | 0 |
| Al Lopez | 17 | 1969 | 2,425 (1,410-1,004) | 2 | 2 |
| John McNamara | 19 | 1996 | 2,395 (1,160-1,233) | 2 | 1 |
| Bud Black | 16 | 2023* | 2,394 (1,125-1,269) | 2 | 0 |
* - Active managers under contract for 2024
